KOTLC Sokeefe One-Shots, Alternate Endings, etc

Father: part 5 (Keefe POV)

His home crystal returned them to Havenfield.

Edaline had given him a crystal the first day he'd returned to Foxfire, telling him that she knew he could use the Leapmaster but wanted him to know he was welcome to consider Havenfield his home.

He'd hugged her so tightly she teased him about getting strangle-hug lessons from Sophie.

But she had also had tears in her eyes.

But then, so had he.

"I don't think we should be here," Sophie said through her tears. "Grady and Edaline can't know--"

"You're safe here," Sandor cut in before Keefe could say anything. He stepped towards Sophie and even placed a hand on her shoulder. "You know I heard everything. And I'm sorry. But you're safe here, and I think you should stay here. I will walk into the pastures and tell your parents that you're home. I'll tell them you've had a rough morning but that you just need to be alone--"

"She won't be alone," Keefe pointed out. "I'm not leaving her."

"Okay, I'll tell them you brought her home but she's not up to talking to anyone else right now, and I'll be watching over you both. Then they can go about their day as usual and you'll be somewhere safe without having to answer any questions yet."

As he walked away, Keefe took Sophie by the arm and lead her to the Panakes. He sat down, leaning back against the trunk of the tree, and pulled her in close beside him, his arms around her.

She sank into the hug, crying. He didn't know how long he sat there, holding her, whispering to her, as she cried into his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Sophie," he said for probably the tenth time.

She gave a small humorless laugh. "I know things are serious when you call me by my first name."

He pulled her a little tighter. "Are you ready to talk about it?"

She sniffed, and straightened up to look at him. "Ready enough to apologize for jumping on you like that back there and assuming the worst."

Keefe shook his head. "It was an easy assumption to make," he said softly. "And you believed me right away when I told you what happened."

"What exactly tipped you off?" she asked. He could feel her curiosity mixing with the uncertainty. He could tell she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"We were talking about it, and then his fingers brushed against mine when he handed me the bottle of Youth, and he felt somehow excited and scared at the same time. But that could have meant any number of things—honestly I hoped he was just glad you were going to push for the truth but scared you'd get hurt—but I knew I had to ask."

"And he confirmed it." Her face, tone and emotions all said one thing: bitter.

"Yes, but Sophie...you probably don't want to hear this, and I'm not going to push, but...you should know. He loves you. I could feel it. And he told you the rest—he never wanted to keep it a secret."

Sophie said nothing, but a few more tears began to leak out.

"Don't worry about it," Keefe whispered, pulling her against his chest again, holding her tight. "Just rest. You're tired. Just sit here with me. It's all going to be okay."

The words "I love you" almost came tumbling out of his mouth, but he held back.

He knew he'd been in love with her for ages, but they'd only just started dating. It wasn't fair to say it yet.

And she'd had enough of a shock for one day.

So he held her.

And within a few minutes, her tears stopped and her breathing slowed into a steady, rhythmic pace.